Fellowship Guidelines

Fellowship Guidelines

An excellence award to be given to graduate students who best represent the potential to fulfill the broad mission of The Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce, Inc., that being to promote trade and investment flows between Brazil and the United States and forge closer ties between the business communities of both nations.

Partnership

The fellowship shall only be distributed through partnerships with recognized organizations dedicated to awarding excellence in graduate studies. These organizations shall be entirely responsible for their candidate selection process. The submission of candidates to the Person of the Year Fellowship Committee will be subject to final evaluation by the committee. Each partner organization may submit a maximum of ten candidates for each year, from which the committee will choose the awardees. Any recognized university in the United States or Brazil may participate in the program provided a selection process is fulfilled in accordance with the fellowship guidelines.

Candidate Requirements and Selection Process

The fellowship shall be awarded to students selected from a list of candidates, previously screened and selected by the partnering organizations, who:

Have demonstrated a defined and focused career path along with a solid and continued interest in Brazil-US relations;

Have an outstanding resume of accomplishments in both the academic and business / professional spheres;

Are residents of either Brazil or the United States;

Have a proven interest in giving back to the community, as demonstrated through community service or volunteer work.

Each candidate shall submit, through the partnering organization, the following:

A fellowship commitment form (to be supplied by the Chamber);

A letter of introduction explaining why he/she should be awarded the fellowship;

A CV highlighting professional experience and other accomplishments;

An official undergraduate transcript as well as a transcript of the latest graduate studies accomplished (if applicable).

In selecting each candidate, the committee will consider academic performance, professional experience, and leadership potential. Financial need may be considered, but will not be a determining factor in the selection of candidates. While an in-person interview is ideal, for candidates residing in Brazil / outside the greater New York area, the interview may be accomplished through either video conferencing or a telephone conference call.

Follow-Up and Conclusion of Fellowship Program

Each fellow shall present a biannual report on the development and the experience extracted from the program. At the conclusion of the program, the fellow shall present a final report, in the form of an article, to be submitted to the Person of the Year Fellowship Committee. The committee shall consider inviting each fellow to present his/her final report to the Chamber’s Board of Directors. The article, if and once presented to the Board of Directors, shall be posted to the Chamber’s website. In addition, all fellows stationed in New York or its vicinity shall be available to attend major Chamber programs, in particular, the Person of the Year Awards Gala Dinner, to take place May of each year.

Alumni Group

All fellows shall participate in an alumni group with the intent of preserving the unity of the fellowship recipients, assisting in the renewal and development of new policies for the fellowship program, and deliberating on other activities and initiatives.